Science: Denatured Plutonium

"Uranium 235 and plutonium can be denatured; such denatured materials do
not readily lend themselves to the making of atomic explosives, but. .
. can be used for the peaceful applications of atomic energy."

This cryptic statement was the heart & soul of the State Department's
Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy (see
INTERNATIONAL). Upon the "denaturing" depended the effectiveness of the
Plan, which proposed to distribute the "harmless" materials freely.

How was the denaturing accomplished? Only a handful of insiders knew.
But scientists all over the world could conjecture.